While other MediaPost newsletters and articles remain free to all ... our new Research Intelligencer service is reserved for paid subscribers ...

Subscribe today to gain access to the every Research Intelligencer article we publish as well as the exclusive daily newsletter, full access to The MediaPost Cases, first-look research and daily insights from Joe Mandese, Editor in Chief.

Commentary

The Revenge of Fred

Judy, he's back! Well, technically, he never went away. Fred, aka Lucas
Cruikshank, has been a relentless presence on the viral video circuit for years now, and he was among the only figures in that group to make the leap across platforms. He landed a Nickelodeon film
last year. The youngish motormouth is something akin to YouTube's first child actor, a kind of Mason Reese figure who was bound for challenges as he aged and lost some of that kiddie charm. YouTube
stardom seems to require a certain level of frantic, obsessive energy on the part of the pro-amateur hosts. Fred, forever speaking to his pal Judy on the other end of the camera, is the poster child
for hyperactivity.

advertisement

advertisement

And Fred is back. He is somewhat grown up but not grown out of his earlier self in a new talk show called Figgle Chat that premieres this week. The Fred figure has moved to Hollywood, hired a reluctant crew of techies who
produce the show from a basement, and still maintains his light-speed persona. In the first of this six episode series he interviews a President Obama impersonator initially under the impression he is
the real thing. When it turns out the guy is just trading the gig for an online mention and in order to pitch an energy drink, Fred has a taste. Hilarity ensues.

Love him or hate him, Fred is a
phenom that maintains interest. Hundreds of thousands of viewers have already tested the Figgle Chat promo and first episode. The faux amateur feel is belied by a fair amount of quick editing and some
decent pacing. I am not sure one actually can warm to the Fred character, and it surely isn't pitched to a fifty-something critic who is still trying to understand the allure of SpongeBob Squarepants.
But Fred and his production partners have been wise enough to keep the series brief in episode length and run. Somehow they manage to offer a fair story and energy arc to the first episode that is
appealing even if the tired asides to his own backstage crew are, well, tiresome.

Although the Fred character may seem a little strange, oddly enough, its strang in an interesting way. The first appearance I saw of Fred was on iCarly. Not until the movie did I actually pay more attention and the movie actually kept my attention. I'm looking forward to movie #2. If I didn't have children I doubt I would know of the Fred character.

Steve Smith is the Editorial Director, Events at MediaPost where he oversees all OMMA and Insider Summit event content. He is also the longtime Mobile Insider/MoBlog columnist for Mobile Marketing Daily. A recovering academic who taught media studies at Brown and University of Virginia, he spent the last decade as a digital media critic for numerous publications and as a digital strategy consultant. He also writes for Media Industry Newsletter and eContent magazine. Contact him here.